The next time you’re struggling to get
your team to understand the urgency of a
schedule shift or the impetus behind a scope
change, take a step back and breathe. You
may be failing to account for your team
members’ emotions.
It’s easy to think projects come down to
technical prowess or process competency. But
in reality, projects succeed through human
efforts, and emotions often influence—if not
dictate—the actions of a well-rounded leader.
For years, emotional intelligence has been heralded as the answer. And it certainly seems promising. The basic premise goes something like this:
People who are aware of their own feelings and
emotions as well as those of their colleagues can
use that information to guide their actions.
And many advocates of emotional intelligence
report a solid ROI.
Taking the time to understand the factors
associated with emotional intelligence helps
project managers establish stronger and more
*
positive relationships with project stakeholders
at all project levels, says Frank P. Saladis, PMP,
president of Blue Marble Enterprises Inc.,
New York, New York, USA. He also is past
president of PMI’s New York Chapter and
chair of the PMI Education and Training
Specific Interest Group.
“Project managers should understand that
being aware of the emotional state of team members, clients and other stakeholders will assist
them in developing the most effective methods
for communicating within the project environment and will contribute to the improvement of their own communications skills,” he
says. “Understanding emotional intelligence
and how project team members react to the
daily pressures and demands of the project
allows the project manager to develop better
listening skills and to develop stronger and
more trusting relationships.”
Although the concept of emotional intelligence may be difficult to grasp, by harnessing and
embracing the ability to understand and manage
emotions, a project manager can benefit from better interactions with stakeholders, team members
and external customers, explains Jarik E. Conrad,
Ed.D., president of Conrad Consulting Group
LLC, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
“Having a high emotional intelligence translates into a realistic level of self-confidence, a
noticeably improved ability to recognize and
manage stress, enhanced problem-solving
capabilities as well as an improved ability to
cope with ongoing change,” he says.
In addition, project managers with
strong self-confidence and stress-manage-ment skills have an edge against the competition and deliver results where others could
easily fail, says Debra J. Arnett, PMP, project
manager at FedEx Express, Memphis,
Tennessee, USA and president of PMI’s
Memphis Chapter.
